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Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.

The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.

Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed

The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.

The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.

"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.

Legacy Challenge

The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.

Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.

Deeply Felt Connection

For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.

"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."

Significant Encounter

Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.

The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.

The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.

Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."

"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."

Church Regulations Reforms

The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.

They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.

"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.

Responsibility Emphasized

A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."

The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."

Moving Forward

Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."

After the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for future change.

"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," they stated.

They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."